Victoria Arbiter: The delicate balance between royal duty and personal safety

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge received a warm welcome from the people of Pakistan this week as they embarked on a five day tour to the South Asian nation; the first such trip by a member of the royal family since 2006.

Prior to their departure, aides described the visit as the couple's "most complex" tour to date. Given Pakistan's instability in recent years and looming threats of terrorism, security was a major concern when it came to logistical planning and therein lay much of the complexity.

But with over 1.5 million people of Pakistani origin living in the UK, it was vitally important that the visit be seen to reinforce ties between the two countries while celebrating Pakistan as it is today — "a dynamic, aspirational and forward-looking nation."

The Pakistan visit has been Prince William and Kate's "most complex" royal tour to date. (Getty)

Charles and Camilla were the last royals to tour Pakistan, and they too were treated to a vibrant week as they promoted inter-faith education, youth entrepreneurship and sustainable development, but their stay didn't come without incident.

During their six days on the ground they were forced to cancel a trip to Peshawar, where protestors had gathered to denounce an airstrike on a school, and a new itinerary was hastily put in place following a military raid that killed 80 people in the northwestern tribal region the couple was due to visit.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that security this week was at its highest level since the Queen's visit to Ireland in 2011.

As a rule, royals generally don't allow potential threats to act as a deterrent when it comes to conducting tours and engagements. They want well-wishers to be able to see them up close and personal, and not through a wall of police officers.

Make no mistake, royal protection is always close at hand, but where possible bodyguards try not to infringe on the public's experience. It's a delicate balancing act, but there's a bond of trust which exists between principal and protection officer, and if the bodyguard in question says 'it's time to go', it's time to go.

In one of her more controversial trips the Queen travelled to Ghana in 1961. The former British colony had gained its independence in 1957, and the Queen's visit marked the country's first by a reigning British monarch.

Shortly before her departure, MPs stated that they thought it unwise she go due to rising tensions in the country and the president's increasingly dictatorial stance.

The Queen's 1961 visit to Ghana was controversial, but proved a tremendous success. (Getty)

Winston Churchill wrote to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, saying, "I have the impression that there is widespread uneasiness both over the physical safety of the Queen and, perhaps more, because her visit would seem to endorse a regime which has imprisoned hundreds of Opposition members without trial and which is thoroughly authoritarian in tendency."

Given the Queen's need to remain politically neutral, her former PM's apprehension was justifiable, but even in the wake of bombings across the capital city of Accra just days before her arrival, the Queen remained insistent the trip go ahead.

As head of the Commonwealth, she wanted to avoid insulting or embarrassing Ghana by postponing her visit and she also hoped to prevent President Nkrumah from having any further reason to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations.

She told Macmillan, "I am not a film star. I am the head of the Commonwealth and I am paid to face any risks that may be involved. Nor do I say this lightly. Do not forget that I have three children." The visit was on.

The tour proved to be a tremendous success. Everywhere the Queen went she was greeted by rapturous crowds and much excitement. A neo-Marxist Ghanian newspaper even went so far as to pronounce her "the world's greatest socialist monarch in history."

The Queen's courage under fire was on display once again at Trooping the Colour in 1981. (Getty)

It was an odd description considering her position as head of an exceedingly wealthy hereditary monarchy, but it spoke to the widespread popularity of her visit. With goodwill in abundant supply following her return to London, there was no more talk of Ghana leaving the Commonwealth.

The Queen's courage under fire was on display once again during the annual Trooping the Colour parade in 1981.

A few weeks prior to the wedding of Charles and Diana, 17-year-old Marcus Sarjeant joined the crowds gathering to watch the procession. As the Queen approached on horseback, Sarjeant aimed his starting pistol and fired six blanks before being restrained by police.

Outward appearances suggested the Queen, riding sidesaddle, was unphased by the incident, but it must have been an alarming experience. All the same she regained control of her horse, and continued on to Horse Guards Parade.

To this day, the Queen has never allowed the episode to alter her approach to public appearances.

Since 1987 she's chosen to attend Trooping the Colour in a carriage as opposed to on horseback. On occasion the carriage is covered, but only because of inclement weather and not because of any residual fears over personal safety.

The Cambridges' tour of Pakistan has reportedly involved a thousands police officers. (Getty)

Reports stated that over a thousand police officers were drafted in to guard William and Kate this week, but their subtle presence allowed the Cambridges to revel in Pakistan's breathtaking beauty, accept the gracious hospitality of her people and pay tribute to those on the ground working towards the betterment of others.

As one might expect, there have been endless comparisons to Diana and talk of William and Kate following in her footsteps. To some degree they have, but they've also left their own mark on a country charmed by their very presence.

One has only to look at the sweet face of seven-year-old Wafia Rehmani enjoying a bedside princess tea party with William and Kate at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital to know this is a visit Pakistan will remember for years to come.

The princess tea party that put a smile on a little girl's face. (AAP)

According to Simon Perry, the royal correspondent for People Magazine, when William and Kate left the Badshahi Mosque they were told by Honourary Consul Fakir Aijaz Uddin, "If there's one word to describe your visit it is 'joy.' You have radiated joy wherever you have been."

That joy has been evident in the wall-to-wall television coverage and thousands of photos beamed around the world revealing Pakistan in a way so rarely portrayed by the media at large.

As for the long term benefits; well, that remains to be seen, but for William and Kate, a couple whose primary goal was to "showcase Pakistan as it is today," I'd say mission accomplished.